Friday, August 26, 2011

President Obama is leaving Martha’s Vineyard today instead of Saturday due to the approach of Hurricane Irene. But Mrs. Obama has decided to finish out her vacation, staying with the couple’s daughters until Saturday at a cost of thousands to taxpayers.

The first lady also traveled to Martha’s Vineyard a few hours ahead of the president a week ago Thursday, a separate trip that similarly added to the taxpayers’ tab.

Bringing Mrs. Obama home a day later forces the Secret Service to continue to provide security on Martha’s Vineyard even though the president will be back in Washington. And Mrs. Obama will bill the Air Force for a separate, specially equipped jet to take her home.

The country is hurting with unemployment / underemployment in excess of 18%. Mrs. Obama does not seem to care. To me, her actions are pure arrogance.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

We are beginning the tailgate organizing process. We have the same spot (#43 behind More Hall). The fee for the season will be $200 which includes everything and allows you to bring as many guests as you want. Please let me know as soon as possible if you want to participate. You can email me at tayloredbc@gmail.com. The first game is Saturday, September 3rd. I can't wait!

Senior Tax Manager. Located in Boston, need 6-12 years' experience, public
& private, two person tax group & this is the senior position. Need multi
state experience. Will pay 150k (maybe north of that) plus bonus.
Tax Manager. South Shore, 3 person group. Very project oriented position.
International tax is a plus. Need bright individual. Will pay 80-120k.
Not sure about bonus potential.
Investment management firm in Boston that's looking
for an individual with 10+ years' of tax experience in hedge funds. They'll pay a base of 120-130k but the bonus potential is incredible. Last year the CFO told me the bonus payouts
were 40% to 150%. They'd look at someone public/private or someone coming
from public.

We’ve run out of hope, Obama

By Margery Eagan

Tuesday, August 9, 2011 -

Yesterday we really, really needed Barack Obama to hit one out of the park. Instead he got up to the plate and choked. Again.

I felt worse when he finished than when he began. So did the stock market, which kept dropping and dropping post-speech as analysts talked about the “fear index” and nervousness turned to outright panic.
Did you notice? This president — who once had a silver tongue, who promised us the world — looked left into his teleprompter yesterday. He looked right into his teleprompter. Not once did he look the camera, or us, straight in the eye. It’s what people do when they’re lying.

I don’t believe he’s lying. I do think he’s rudderless and scared, which makes me petrified.
“No matter what some agency may say,” he said, “we’ve always been and always will be a triple-A country.”
Really? That little pep talk was as unconvincing as a little league coach reassuring kids who just got crushed.
This disastrous downgrade should give politicians “a renewed sense of urgency” to tackle the U.S. deficit and debt.

It will? Then how come Congress is on vacation? Are we just supposed to just teeter above the abyss until Labor Day, Thanksgiving, 2012?

Doesn’t he get it? The ground is moving beneath our feet here in the once reliable and dependable USA.
Barack Obama needed to restore our confidence, reassure us he’s got a handle on this mess and has some sort of plan in his back pocket. He achieved none of this yesterday. Instead, he repeated phrases I’ve heard a million times about a “balanced approach” and the need to “rebuild our infrastructure.”

But what’s he going to do about righting this listing economy?

Here’s what we need from him: action, toughness and truth.

The truth is, those able to buy influence in Washington — the rich and corporate America — don’t pay their fair share while their incomes and profits soar. Meanwhile the middle class, whose incomes are flat and whose families struggle daily, pay more than ever. Somehow these Tea Party nuts have convinced voters that this is exactly the way it should be, and they’re willing to ruin the entire economy to get their way.

Barack Obama should curse the Wall Street greed heads and the Tea Party know-nothings and move boldly to rescue the great beleaguered American middle class.

But he won’t. Just when we need him most, he’s turned into a gutless, quivering wimp.

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE AND FRIGHTENED RABBIT Bank of America Pavilion, last night

The new “Codes and Keys’’ is a gem of songwriting and performance, yet just edgy enough to keep Death Cab for Cutie a safe distance from a mainstream tidal wave; this is a band that seems unwilling to uncork its “Losing My Religion’’ moment, though it very well could, given the caliber of tunes unfurled during its two-hour concert.

Though Death Cab has pop chops to spare, the quartet didn’t ignore the spark of sheer musicianship. To that end, the band opened with a long, drawn out rendition of “I Will Possess Your Heart,’’ which had singer and front man Ben Gibbard moving from guitar to keyboard and coaxing plaintive pleas.

Like Gibbard’s ebb-and-flow vocal style, the group’s songs thrive on a dual nature. The happy songs have a shadow of sadness, and the sad songs have a hint of hope. After the sprawl of the opening number, the band snapped into the peppy “Crooked Teeth.’’ That sort of dynamic push and pull suffused the performance.

At one point Gibbard acknowledged the support Boston has long given this Seattle troupe, and the admiration from the crowd seemed sincere, as older fare such as “Why Do You Want to Live Here’’ was as heartily received as such new anthems as “Doors Unlocked and Open.’’

Amid the solid flow of the show, the band crafted various peaks. At one point, Gibbard held court on solo acoustic guitar for an emotional turn through “I Will Follow You Into the Dark.’’ Elsewhere, the power-pop punch of the band was felt in full force with a pairing of “You Are a Tourist’’ and “The New Year.’’ Oddly, after that latter high point, the band stumbled through a choppy rendition of “Underneath the Sycamore.’’ At least it left the impression that Death Cab for Cutie isn’t on autopilot, and the occasional train wreck is almost endearing in the auto-tune age.

A long, meandering “We Looked like Giants’’ played before “The Sound of Settling’’ brought the set to a close much like it opened. The encores were a mix of old and new.

Scotland’s Frightened Rabbit opened with a folk-tinged brand of indie pop that complemented Death Cab’s set.